1st Edition
Far-Right Newspeak and the Future of Liberal Democracy
This book is the first systematic, multicountry exploration of far-right Newspeak.
The contributors analyze the ways in which contemporary far-right politicians, intellectuals, and pundits use and abuse traditional liberal concepts and ideas to justify positions that threaten democratic institutions and liberal principles. They explore cases of both far-right and right-wing thought in eastern and western Europe, the United States, and Canada. Subjects include well-known figures, such as Marine Le Pen, Tucker Carlson, Peter Thiel, Nick Griffin, Thierry Baudet, Jordan Peterson, Russell Brand, and Viktor Orbán, and lesser-known names, such as the Czech politician Tomio Okamura and the Internet personality "Raw Egg Nationalist." The contributors examine these figures’ claims about hot-button issues, including immigration, Islam, race, Covid-19 policies, feminism, monetary policy, and free speech. The book demonstrates that mainstream politicians and intellectuals are at risk of losing control over the definitions of the very concepts, including equal rights, racial and ethnic diversity, and political tolerance, that undergird their vision of liberal democracy.
It will be of interest to scholars, journalists, policymakers, political scientists, historians, political theorists, sociologists, and general audiences concerned about the sophisticated efforts of far-right and right-wing politicians and pundits to undermine the foundations of liberal democracy.
Part I Introduction
1 Far-Right Newspeak and the Fragility of Liberal Democracy
A. James McAdams
Part II The Language of Liberalism
2 Masters of Contemporary Newspeak: Tucker Carlson, Marine Le Pen, and Jordan Peterson
A. James McAdams
3 “We are looking for a new feminism”: Marine Le Pen’s Reappropriation of the Liberal Language of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Sarah Shurts
4 Far-Right Politics in the Czech Republic: Tomio Okamura’s Liberal Language and Populist Playbook
Petra Mlejnková
Part III Far-Right Newspeak in Practice
5 The Transition From Liberal to Illiberal Constitutionalism in Poland and Hungary: the Language of Rights and Equality
Tímea Drinóczi and Agnieszka Bień-Kacała
6 When Legal Language Meets Apocalypse Anxiety: Democracy, Constitutional Scholars, and the Rise of the German Far Right after 2015
Frank Wolff
7 From Practical Critics to Hateful Malcontents: The Rise and Fall of the Online “Manosphere”
George Hawley
Part IV The Ambiguities of a Concept
8 Forced to be Free? America’s “Postliberals” on Freedom and Liberty
Laura K. Field
9 Shine a Light or Burn it Down? Conspiracism and Liberal Ideas
Steven Pittz
Part V Beyond Far-Right Newspeak
10 Against the Global Prison-Society: The Far Right’s Language of the Opposition to the Great Reset
José Pedro Zúquete
11 Hard Men, Hard Money, Hardening Right: Bitcoin, Peter Thiel, and Schmittian States of Exception
Josh Vandiver
Part VI Conclusion
12 Liberalism’s Vulnerabilities and Two Paths for the Future
Samuel Piccolo
Biography
A. James McAdams is the William M. Scholl Professor of International Affairs in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, USA.
Samuel Piccolo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minnesota, USA.
“This volume tackles an incredibly important issue that has been so far understudied: the way far-right movements appropriate the language of liberalism. The authors offer us a series of vivid examples of how the semantics of freedom and rights can be instrumentalized by forces promoting exclusionary policies. They also invite us to question the loss of meaning associated with illiberal Newspeak. A must-read for everyone interested in understanding the challenges of liberalism today.”
Marlene Laruelle, Director, Illiberalism Studies Program, The George Washington University, USA; Editor, Illiberalism.org
“It is easy to assume that the language of freedom, equality, individual and collective rights, and pluralism belongs inextricably to liberal and leftist egalitarians. This assumption has been very much put in question by the strategic rhetoric deployed by a range of right-wing (including radical-right) theoreticians and political actors in many different societies today. The aim of this instructive and important book by A. James McAdams and Samuel Piccolo, and their collaborators, is to warn us of the serious perils we face when concepts intended to promote progress, enlightenment, and justice are hijacked in order to serve opposing ideological purposes.”
Ronald Beiner, author of Dangerous Minds: Nietzsche, Heidegger, and the Return of the Far Right
"One of the biggest questions of our time is how democracies globally will be challenged by the rise of conservative nationalists who are savvy with communications and messaging. After covering the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, I am highly aware of the power of words to influence voters. This book provides a vivid roadmap for understanding these forces, taking readers far beyond the headlines and delving into analysis and research that offers important perspectives."
Robert Costa, CBS News chief election & campaign correspondent; co-author of the # 1 New York Times bestseller Peril
“This fascinating volume traces how far-right politicians, intellectuals, and opinion-makers use the language of democracy to hollow out basic liberal principles and institutions—and how this form of Newspeak can divide societies in the name of protecting them. The chapters are provocative, controversial, and always engaging. Importantly, the authors analyze the concept of the ‘far-right’ itself, and assess its boundaries and analytical utility. An invaluable guide for all scholars and supporters of liberal democracy.”
Anna Grzymala-Busse, Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies, Stanford University, USA
